Family’s tributes to former Norwich publican who died in crash on A140 at Stuston

Former Norwich publican Allan Kerrigan, who died in a crash on the A140 at Stuston

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The family of a former Norwich publican, who died in a crash on the A140, have paid a moving tribute to his love of life and thirst for knowledge, which led him to qualify for a number of different trades.

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Allan Kerrigan, 62, of Edwin Close, Wymondham, will be known to Norwich residents as the former landlord of the Queens Arms and the Plasterers Arms pubs, which he ran successfully for a number of years before becoming a health and safety consultant and trainer.

However, the proud Londoner, who was born in Canning Town, had a number of other professions during his lifetime, including a lorry driver and constantly sought to improve his skills. He was also a member of a masonic lodge in Wymondham.

His wife Gladys, 76, said: “He was a man who lived his life to the full. There was always something new he wanted to do. He was always reinventing himself.

“When he saw that the pub trade was struggling, he decided to leave and try something new, that was the sort of person he was.”

Tragically, the grandfather-of-five was returning to Wymondham from London after providing health and safety training when his Toyota Corolla was involved in a crash with a silver BMW and a lorry at Stuston at 4.30pm on Friday.

He had intended to travel his usual route up the M11 and A11 to get back to Wymondham, but changed his plans because there had been an accident.

He was pronounced dead at the scene outside Crabtree Farm, while the BMW driver, a 23-year-old man from the Diss area, was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge where he remains in a critical condition after suffering internal bleeding. The lorry driver was treated for shock.

At least six fire crews from Norfolk and Suffolk responded to the incident, which closed the A140 in both directions, between the B1077 and B1118 junctions for more than four hours while the emergency services cleared the scene.

Mr Kerrigan’s son Paul, 49, said his dad loved fishing, shooting, cricket and rugby and was a big fan of the Irish national rugby team, as his father was Irish.

He had also been due to move with his wife to a new home in Feltwell in two weeks and the couple had begun packing their possessions.

His son-in-law Michael Quinton, who is married to Mr Kerrigan’s daughter Susan, 53, added: “He was just a decent, hard working, normal everyday man. He was very sociable and would be prepared to help anyone.”

An investigation into the crash is underway and police are asking anyone who may have seen the incident to contact the Serious Collision Investigation Team at Suffolk Police by dialling 101.